What to expect on your first appointment

Hi friends. I wanted to take a few minutes to write about first time appointments for those who are interested. First time appointments are always exciting because neither party truly knows what to expect. Hopefully, this post will shed a little light on the topic.

My space is in a second floor walk up office which I share with another massage therapist colleague. You can expect to be greeted by me when you walk into the studio space with an appointment (sessions are appointment only. I don't take walk-ins at this time.) From there the appointment proceeds with 5 to 10 minutes of intake. I generally want to know how you're feeling as we start to do a little Q & A all about you. This is also time for you to ask me questions or express any concerns or needs. Together we plan the session. If you are brand new to massage I will spend time going over procedure like clothing, getting on the table and basically walk you through how to do this. Your comfort and clarity are at all times my number one consideration.

The massage. I have no way of telling you exactly what is going to happen in the massage but I can tell you what to expect. Respect for the body and the being inhabiting it is the driving force behind every one of my massages. You can expect me to check in with you about sensation and pain quite a lot. You can expect that I will ask you WHAT something feels like rather than HOW. You can expect me to talk to you about what I am going to do before I do it. You can expect me to check in about boundaries around the chest and groin EVERY TIME. You can also expect anatomy education and explanation. You can expect me to answer questions as honestly as I can and to the highest degree I am capable of. The goals are connection, understanding, and embodied healing. Essentially the body dictates the massage. Your job is to feel, breathe and advocate for yourself. My job is to feel breathe and listen.

After session you can expect some time to dress and gather your wits. Then, we will spend the remaining time (usually 10-20 minutes) of your appointment debriefing. This can include talking about what happened during our session, what care you may need to do in the future and treatment plan options.

That's it folx!